Invests 5 billion yuan! Liu Qiangdong ventures into the yacht industry

JD.com Founder and Chairman Liu Qiangdong announced on February 24th that he has established an independent yacht brand, Sea Expandary, and will invest 5 billion yuan in Guangdong to develop the yacht industry.

Liu Qiangdong stated that the domestic yacht industry currently exhibits a pattern of “small, scattered, weak” investments. However, yachts are capital- and technology-intensive industries. He believes that investing 5 billion yuan in Guangdong is necessary to compete with top global yacht manufacturers from Europe and America.

According to Shanghai Securities News, Liu Qiangdong plans to develop the yacht industry across the entire supply chain, including research and development, manufacturing, sales, operations, leasing, brokerage, and services.

Sea Expandary Yacht Brand Signs Agreements with Multiple Cities in the Greater Bay Area

On February 24th, the first day back to work after the Spring Festival, Sea Expandary signed strategic cooperation agreements with the governments of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and other cities. The brand plans to invest in building a yacht manufacturing base in Zhuhai and establish its China headquarters for yacht business in Shenzhen. It will also participate in the construction and operation of multiple docks and supporting facilities in Shenzhen. Additionally, Sea Expandary will set up R&D innovation centers, yacht operation service centers, bonded maintenance centers, and other supporting institutions in the Greater Bay Area.

An industry insider believes that the establishment of this domestic yacht brand, Sea Expandary, could leverage green and intelligent technologies to break the dominance of overseas giants in the yacht market, lower the economic threshold for yacht consumption, and promote the industry’s transition toward mass consumption and large-scale development.

Public information shows that the official website of Sea Expandary, founded by Liu Qiangdong, se.360cec.com, and its corporate email info@seaexpandary.com are now online. According to the website, Sea Expandary aims to be a leading global ecosystem for green and intelligent yachts, serving the worldwide market by integrating R&D, manufacturing, global sales, yacht club services, and ocean exploration services, providing top-tier products and services to global yacht customers.

The website states that Sea Expandary is positioned as a global leader in the full industrial ecosystem of green and intelligent yachts, targeting the international market with a comprehensive chain that includes R&D, design, manufacturing, global sales, yacht club services, and ocean scientific research. The brand will focus on new energy intelligent yachts, with deep applications of AI and robotics technologies.

According to JD.com, Sea Expandary will invest in building a modern, intelligent yacht manufacturing base in Zhuhai, focusing on R&D and manufacturing in new energy power systems, intelligent driving systems, new materials, and interior design. The goal is to establish a demonstration base for the yacht industry that is rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, radiates globally, and has international influence.

In Shenzhen, Sea Expandary is expected to set up its China headquarters for yacht business, overseeing domestic operations, brand management, supply chain coordination, high-end talent recruitment, and international market expansion. It will also participate in the construction and operation of multiple docks and supporting facilities, fostering a “Yacht+” business model.

Multiple Benefits of the Yacht Economy Will Be Unleashed

Behind this new investment is the rapidly growing domestic yacht market. Recent data from the Ministry of Transport shows that over the past three years, the number of yachts in China has increased rapidly, with about 54.7% of newly registered yachts accounting for the total. By the end of 2025, China is expected to have a total of 9,850 registered yachts, and this growth trend is expected to continue during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Recently, several policies encouraging the yacht industry have been issued domestically. At the end of January, the General Office of the State Council released the “Work Plan for Accelerating the Cultivation of New Growth Points in Service Consumption,” which emphasizes “promoting high-quality development of yacht consumption.” On February 6th, Liu Dong, head of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Transport, stated at a regular policy briefing that the ministry is accelerating the development of measures to expand yacht consumption, aiming to enhance supply capacity while ensuring safety, and promote the industry’s transition toward mass and large-scale consumption. Prior to this, multiple ministries jointly issued the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Cruise and Yacht Equipment and Industry,” and local policies encouraging yacht industry development have been introduced in Hainan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and other regions.

“Over recent years, the yacht economy has gained increasing attention from many countries and regions,” said Shen Jianguang, Chief Economist of JD.com, in a previous article. He noted that, based on global development practices, developing the yacht economy can promote service consumption upgrading, drive the comprehensive development of shipbuilding, foster integration of manufacturing and services, create diverse employment opportunities, and enhance regional economic attractiveness.

Shen further explained that developing the yacht economy will directly promote the growth of service consumption. China’s consumer market is rapidly changing, and compared to goods consumption, service consumption has become increasingly important for expanding and upgrading overall consumption.

“The development potential of yacht consumption in China is very large. Developing the yacht economy can have multiple positive effects on service consumption. Besides directly boosting yacht sales, it can also stimulate high-end tourism, professional services, training, and education industries,” Shen said.